Machinery for side-seaming cans.



No. 653,467. Patented July no, moo.

w. u. BROOKS.

MACHINERY FOR SIDE SEAMING CANS.

(Application filed. Dec. 9, 1899.)

(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

Patented .luly l0, I900.

w. n. I BROOKS.

MACHINERY FOB SIDE SEAMING CANS.

(Application filed Dec. 9, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

(No Model.)

FFIC

WILLIAM DJBROOKS, OF "BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

MACHINERY FOR SIDE-SEAMING CANS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,467, dated July 10,1900.

Application filed December 9,1899. Serial No, 7139;832. (No model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. BROOKS, a

citizen of the United States, residing at No. 235 Carroll street annex,Baltimore, Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Machinery for Side-Seaming Cans, of which the following isv aspecification.

My invention is an improvement in' machinery for side-seaming cans.

My object is to provide a machine which will produce a can body ofperfect cylindrical form and free from all irregularities inits surface.I aim also to provide a machine which will carry on the work quickly andin which the cans may be rapidly cooled immediately after theapplication of the heat and solder and the formation of the seam, sothata perfect joint will be secured. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of themachine. Fig. 2 is an end elevation looking from the right-hand end ofFig. 1. Figs. 3 and eare detail views showing the extreme ends of themachine. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the cam for controlling thepushing-stops of the mandrel. Fig. 6 is a plan view of part of themachine. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of the mandrel. Fig. 8 is adetail View of the mandrel and roller-dies. Fig. 9 is a detail viewshowing how the flame may be made to impinge outside of the can-body.

In the drawings a mandrel 1 is shown supported upon a lower die-roller 2and' upon lower supporting-rollers 3, all of which have their bearingsjournaled in side frames 4. Above the die-roller 2 an upperv die-roller5 is employed, and these rollers have their periphcries ofsubstantially-semicircular form in cross-section, so as to fitaccurately the cylindrical surfaces of the mandrel and substantially allthe way around the same.

The upper die-roller 5 has its bearings in a lever 6, which is pivotedat 7 in standards 8. on the side frames, the said lever being forked atits forward end and having its rear end connected with a bail 7, uponwhich is hung Weight 9. This weight through the lever 6 causes the upperdie-roller to press upon the mandrel and the can thereon with sufficientforce to act as a die in the formation of a seam, as shown in Fig. 8..These die-rollers 2 and 5 are oscillated in unison by segments 10,connected therewith, the lower roller being operated from a maindriving-shaft 11 through a belt-wheel 13 thereon, a pinion 12 meshingwith a gear 14 on a shaft.15, which shaft has a crank-arm 16 connectedby a link 17 with an oscillating arm 18 on the shaft of the lowerdie-roller, and this, through the segments, oscillates both thedie-rollers. The mandrel reciprocates longitudinally, and its motion isuniform with that of the die-rollers, so that there will be no draggingof one part in relation to the other, and the action upon the seam andupon the whole can will be a rolling action, and this, together with thesemicircular shape of the rollers peripheries, will give to the can aperfect cylindrical shape and will produce a perfect look at the seam.The mandrel is reciprocated by the traction resulting from theoscillation of the die-roll ers, and in addition to this, in order tocontrol the reciprocation of the mandrel and also to aid or effect itsreciprocation, I employ pushing devices at the front and rear ends ofthe mandrel, and the action of these insures that the mandrel willreceive its proper amount of movement in either direction, and therewill be no tending of its creeping longitudinally in relation to thedie-rollers and the other parts of the machine. These devices compriserods 19 and 20 at the front and rear ends of the mandrel, respectively,arranged to coincide with the axis thereof, the front rod extendingthrough a fixed block 21, forming part of the feeding device of themachine, and a standard 22 for holding said feed-block, the rod beingguided in the block and standard and con nected by a rod 23 with a lever24, pivoted to the floor at 25 and having a pin or roller 26 entering acam-groove 27 in a cam 28, fixed on the shaft 15. The rod 20 at theopposite end of the machine is guided in a bracket 29, fixed on theframe and connected by a pitman or rod 30 with a lever 31, which issimilar to the lever 24:, before described, and is similarly pivoted andoperated by the cam 28, but in reverse order, and for convenience ofillustration I have shown this lever operated by the same groove of thecam.

Supposing the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 1, with themandrel in its extreme forward position, the movement of thedie-rollers, together with the movement of the rod 19, will cause themandrel to move rearward or toward the right in Fig. 1, and in thismovement the rod 19 will constantly press upon the mandrel and willserve to push it to the limit of its stroke. The cam is so formed thatwhile the rod 19 at the front of the machine is aiding in moving themandrel toward the rear the rod 20 at the rear of the machine will begiven a more rapid movement, so as to recede from the end of the mandreland leave a space between the same and itself in order to allowa can tobe discharged from the extreme rear end of the machine. As the rollersmove in the other direction to move the mandrel forward the rear pusheror stop rod 20 comes into action and follows up the movement of themandrel and at the same time aids in this movement and insures that themandrel moves its full movement forward, and while this is taking placethe rod 19 is. quickly withdrawn from the front end of the mandrel,leaving a gap between the same and the feed-block 2.1,. so that theoperator can placea can on the said block in position to be fedtherefrom onto the mandrel when the same reaches its forward limit.The-feed-block 21 is provided with a recess 32, of semispherical or cupshape, adapted to receive the rounded end 33 of the mandrel. Thefeed-block is adapted to guide a feedslide 34, which hasfingers35,projecting rearwardly therefrom, adapted to. push the can fromthe feed-block onto the forward end of the mandrel. A gage 36 issupported adjacent. to the feed-block, and when, the operator places thecan on the feed-block,.with. the broken edges thereof interlocked, hecan, by slightly turning the can-body, bring one edge of the sameagainst, the gage 36, andthusaline the interlocked edgeswith the groove37 in the mandrel, which is adapted to receive-a part. of the seam. Whenthe-can. is placed onthe block, the slide 34, with its feed-fingers, isat the limit of its. forward movement, leaving the rear end of thefeedblockfree for receiving the can-body, and

then u-pon the rearwardmovement of the feeds slide the can-body ispushed onto the front endof the mandrel and in rear of a springcatch 38,which is pivoted. in a recess in the. upper side of the mandrel. Thefeed-slide 34 is carried upon'a cross head or arm 34, which is guided atits lower end by aprojection 34 from the standard 22.. The crosshead:isreciprocated by alink 34 connected with; an arm 34 on the shaft of thelower dieroller. After the mandrel has received the can-body it movestoward the rear far enough to carry the can past detents 39, pivoted tothe fixed frames 4. These detents yield to allow acan to pass by andthen they drop into engagement with the front endof the can, grooves 40being. provided in the sides of the mandrel to allow this action.Uponthe forward stroke of the mandrel thesedetent-shold the can, andthus the mandrel.

moves through them, and then upon the next rearward movement of themandrel the canbody is carried back a step farther to be engaged by asecond set of detents 41, and then upon the forward stroke of themandrel the can is held so that its position relatively to the mandrelis changed toward the rear end thereof, and upon the next rearwardmovement of the mandrel this can is gripped by the seaming die-rollersand is pressed upon thereby throughout its extent, the movement of therollers and the mandrel being sufficient to carry a can entirely throughthe rollers to be gripped by a third set of detents 42. It will be seen,therefore, that the reciprocation of the mandrel causes the can to bemoved step by step from the front end thereof through the die-rollers tothe rear of the machine. The cans are discharged from the rear end ofthe mandrel at 43- in-to an open cage 44, composed of a series of rods45, disposed at difierent points around the can-body and forming a cageof cylindrical form. During its passage through this open cage thesoldering of the seam is performed and the rapid cooling of the can iseffected, as by reason of the open form of' the cage and the fact thatthe air has access to both the exterior and interior parts of the canrapid cooling will immediately take place after the can: leaves thesoldering device. The flame for heating the can maybe applied directlyto the can from either the inner or outerside thereof after it leavesthe mandrel and while it is in the cage, and for: this purpose I providea heater-pipe 44, connected withthe m and-rel and extending rearwardlytherefrom within the cage. This heater-pipe has aseries of burner-jets46, and wicks 47 extend down from these jets into abody'of gasolene,contained in the tube. The supply of gaso lene may be maintained bymeansof air-pipes 48, which when thelevel of gasolene falls be low a.certain point will allow air topass into the main. reservoir-49 for thegasolene, which is provided in the interior of the mandrel.

Instead of a gasolene-burner the flamemay befed by gas introduced inany'su-itable manner;

The cage, which receives the cansfrom the mandrel, issupported ina fixedposition one;

plate 50, secured to the main frame, and' the rear end of the mandrelextends-slightly within the-forward end of this cage. Abovethe cage andnear the rearendof'the mandrel is supported. a flux-pan 51, intowhichisdipped; a brush 52, carried. by an arm 53,v which has a roller 54running upon a cam. 55, arranged adjacent tothe flux-pan. The arm 53-ispi'voted' to a swinging arm 56, pivoted. at 5-7 in standards58,,supportedon the main frame. The arm 56 isoperated by a rod 59,connectedwith one of the-oscillating. rollers-,.and the-effect is-toliftthe-fiuxing-brush from the fluxpan and deposit the same on the seam ofthe canzandl then to return the flux-brush to the fl'uX-pan,.it beingunderstood that the seam is moved longitudinally under-theflux-brush;

bearings 85 on the main frame.

Immediately in the rear of the position of the flux-brush'theburner'acts upon the can to heat the same, and after leaving the burnerthe seam passes under a soldering-iron 60,supported by an arm on thestandard 58, solder being fed to the iron from a reel 71 by means offeed-rollers 72 73, the former of which is turned step by step by a pawland ratchet 74, operated by an arm 75 and a link 76 from the swingingarm or lever 56, and after leaving the soldering device the cans arepushed step by step along and within the cage to drop from the rear endof the cage.

It will be noticed that the can leaves th cageas the mandrel movesforward and while the rod 20 is in contact with the mandrel, and whilethe can cannot drop directly from the cage it rests upon the arm 20, andthenupion the quick retraction of this rod 20 a can will fall throughthe space between it and the rear end of the cage.

It will' be seen that the movement of the cans to the rear after leavingthe die-rollers is caused by one can-body bearing against the othercan-body. Instead of having the burner operate within the fixed cage itmay be arranged outside of the same, as indicated in Fig. 9, Where theburner is shown at 77, extending into a heating-chamber 78, which isformed by vertical walls supported by lateral portions 79 upon bars ofthe cage, the vertical walls being connected together by a crossrod 80.

In order to prevent any circumferential displacement of the mandrel, Iprovide a shoe 81, of elongated form, adapted to enter the small grooveleft in the surface of the canbody at the seam, and, as the thickenedpart at the seam entersthe groove 37 in the mandrel, it will be seenthat the shoe by engag-' ing the groove in the can-body will prevent themandrel from turning, the'said shoe being carried by an arm 82,extending from a fixed frame. ribs 83 may be formed on one or both ofthe upper guide-rollers 84 to enter the groove at the seam, theserollers being journaled in The solder passes down through an openinginthe solderiron directly upon the heated joint of the can-' body.

I do not wish to limit myself to the means described'for reciprocatingthe mandrel, it

being only necessary that the mandrel and the die-rollers have a uniformmotion,'so as' to secure a perfect rolling action and prevent anyslipping of one part in relation to ,the other, and the mandrel may bedriven positively in any suitable manner other than that shown. Neitherdo I wish to limit myself to the manner of feeding a can onto thereciprocating mandrel, nor to the manner of placing the can'upjon thefeed-block through the opening between the feed-block and mandrel, norto the form of feed-block,

The rods 19 20 have pointed ends, which are For the same purpose a ribor' preferably right-angular in cross-section, and l these engagecorresponding sockets in the ends of the mandrels.

In Fig. 2 I show at a chimney for the flame.

The lower die-roller, as shown in Fig. 8, may have a band 91 of anysuitable material adapted to make a good frictional contact with themandrel.

As before stated, the means shown herein are representations of anysuitable means for reciprocating the mandrel positively.

While I have described and shown my invention adapted to operate uponcan-body blanks, it will be understood that the inven tion is notlimited in this respect, as it may be used for making bodies intendedfor other uses than that of forming parts of cans, and I have used theterms ican and f canbodies for convenience, it being understood thatthese terms are meant to include any bodies which my machine may beadapted to make Without regard to their shape in crosssection or the useto which they are put.

What I claim as my invention is-- 1. In combination, the mandrel, a cagein rear of thesame to receive the bodies from the mandrel, and aburner-tube extending from the rear end of the mandrel within the cage,substantially as described.

2. In combination,the ma'ndrehfluxing and soldering devices, and ab'urner-tube extending from the rear end of the mandrel, substantiallyas described.

3. In combination, a hollow mandrel having a reservoir therein and aburner-tube extending from the mandrel, substantially as described.

4:- In combination, the solder-feeding devices, the fluxing device, thelever 56, means for oscillating said lever, and connections therefrom tothe solder-feeding and fluxing devices, substantially as described.

5. In a can-making machine, a reciprocating mandrel and a die-facehaving movement with said mandrel with operating means, said mandrelhaving its opposite ends free for the feeding and discharge ofthebody-blan ks, sub-' stantially as described.

6. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel and a die-roller havingoscillating movement in unison with the movement of the mandrel IIO withoperating means, substantially as dev roller positively, substantiallyas described.

8. In combination, the reciprocating inandrel, an oscillating die-rollerand operating means whereby the o'scillation'of the roller will bein'unison with the reciprocation of the mandrel, substantially asdescribed.

. 9. In'combination, the upper and lower dierollers, areciprocatingmandrel between the rollers and operating means, saidmandrel having its opposite ends free for the feeding of the body-blanksand the discharge of the bodies, substantially as described.

10. In combination, the reciprocating mandrel, upper and lowerdie-rollers geared together and means for operating the parts,substantially as described.

11. In combination, a mandrel, means for feeding the bodies along thesame, a die-roller, and means for applying pressure yieldingly to saidroller, said mandrel having its opposite ends free for the feeding anddischarge of the material, substantially as described.

12. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, means for feeding thebodies along the same, the upper and lower die-rollers, and means forapplying a yielding pressure to the upper roller, said mandrel havingits opposite ends free for the feeding and discharge of the material,substantially as described.

13. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a die and the means formoving the cans along the mandrel through said die, said mandrel havingits opposite ends free for the feeding and discharge of the material,substantially as described.

14. In combination, the mandrel, the die, said mandrel havingreciprocating movement and a detent for moving the cans along themandrel, said detent being fixed in relation to the movement of themandrel, the can-bodies being fed at one end of the mandrel anddischarged at the other end, substantially as described.

15. In combination, a mandrel, oscillating die-rollers and means foroscillating the dierollers, the said mandrel being free to reciprocatebetween the rollers under the action thereof, substantially asdescribed.

16. In combination, a mandrel, a die and means for moving the mandrellongitudinally, said means engaging the end of the mandrel at intervals,substantially as described.

17. In combination, the mandrel, a die, and means for pushing themandrel, said means being located at opposite ends thereof and engagingand disengaging the same, substantially as described.

18. In combination, a mandrel and die, a pushing device at the end ofthe mandrel with means for operating the same toward and from themandrel, substantially as described.

19. In combination, a mandrel and die, a pushing device at each end ofthe mandrel, and means for operating said pushing device toward and fromthe mandrel to allow the feed and discharge of the can-bodies,substantially as described.

20. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a device for acting on thecan-body while on the mandrel, means for reciprocating the mandrel and afeed-block opposite the front end of the mandrel adapted to receive thecan-body to be placed on the mandrel, substantially as described.

21. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, adevice acting on thecan-body thereon,

a feed-block at the front end of the mandrel,

and means for moving the can-body from the feed-block onto the mandrel,substantially as described.

22. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a device acting upon thecan-body there on, and a fixed feed-block at the front end of themandrel upon which the can-body is placed to be taken by the mandrel,substantially as described.

23. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a die, through which themandrel passes, and means for holding the mandrel againstcircumferential displacement, said mandrel being free at both ends forthe feeding and discharging of the blanks and bodies, substantially asdescribed.

24. In combination, a mandrel, means for acting upon the can-bodythereon, said mandrel being free to reciprocate and means engaging thegroove at the seam of the can to prevent the mandrel from turning, saidmandrel having a groove to receive the thickened part at the seam,substantially as described.

25. In combination with a mandrel, acage to receive within it thecan=body and means for acting upon the can-bodies while in the cage, thecans being forced through the cage by the movement of the precedingcans, sub stantially as described.

26. In combination, a mandrel, a support for the cans at the end of themandrel adapted to receive the can-bodies within it and means for actingupon the can=bodies while in said support, the cans being forced throughthe cage by the movement of the preceding cans, substantially asdescribed.

27. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a fixed support to receivethe can=bodies therefrom, and means for acting upon the can-bodies whilesustained by said fixed support, substantially as described.

28. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a fixed support adapted toreceive the 'can-bodies within it as discharged from the mandrel andmeans for acting upon the canbodies while in said support, substantiallyas described.

29. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel, a cage independent thereofand of open form adapted to receive Within it the canbodies,substantially as described.

30. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel and a fixed support of openform to receive the can-bodies therefrom, substantially as described.

31. In combination with the reciprocating mandrel, the fixed cage, theflux-pan, the brush controlled by the cam, a roller and soldering means,substantially as described.

32. In combination in a can-soldering machine, the soldering-iron havingan opening through which the solder is fed, means for feeding thesolder-wire through the iron and means for supporting a can,substantially as described.

33. In combination, a hollow mandrel,

means for acting upon the can-body, a burnertube extending from thehollow mandrel, and air-controlling means for regulating the feed ofgasolene to the burner-tube, substantially as described.

34. In combination, a mandrel, means foroperating upon the can thereon,and a feedblock with means for separating the feedblock andmandrel,substantially as described.

35. In combination, a reciprocating mandrel and means acting upon thecan-bodies thereon, said mandrel having its opposite ends free,substantially as described.

36. In combination, a'reciprocating mandrel, means acting upon thecan-bodies thereon and means for moving the can-bodies along themandrel, said mandrel having its opposite ends free, substantially asdescribed.

37. In combination, a mandrel free at its ends, means for acting on thecans while on the mandrel and means for preventing the mandrel fromturning, substantially as described.

38. In combination with a mandrel, means per and lower die-rollers, amandrel reciproeating between said die-rollers and means for feeding theblanks past the die-rollers, said rollers having contacting surfacesembracing substantially all of the surface of the mandrel, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WM. D. BROOKS.

Witnesses:

Guo. E. TAYLOR, WM. TEGELER.

